Hildale man faces arson, theft charges for allegedly setting stolen car on fire

DO NOT USE..File photo of Colorado City Marshal's Office patrol vehicle, Hildale, Utah, April 28, 2019 | Photo by Ron Chaffin, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A Hildale man now faces charges in both Utah and Arizona after he was arrested by Washington County Sheriff’s deputies on a protective order violation while also being the focus of an ongoing investigation by the Colorado City Marshal’s Office.

Landon Kenneth Copeland, 32, of Hildale, Utah, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, Feb. 23, 2020 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Landon Copeland, 32, of Hildale, was arrested Sunday by the Marshal’s Office before being transported and booked after he was found at a location in Hildale that he was ordered to stay away from by the court.

Colorado City Police Chief Robb Radley said that at the time of the arrest, Copeland was also the suspect in a weeklong investigation by the Colorado City Marshal’s Office that began after deputies responded to an assault call several days earlier.

Shortly after, police received a report that a two-door passenger car was allegedly taken from a residence on Elm Street in Hildale.

Radley said the vehicle was later located in an empty field off Elm Street by a passerby who called 911 to report flames and smoke coming from the car.

Firefighters in Hildale extinguish blaze that burned through vehicle that was allegedly set intentionally near Elm Street, Hildale, Utah, Feb. 21, 2020 | Photo courtesy of the Colorado City Marshal’s Office, St. George News

Crews arrived and were able to extinguish the flames but were not able to salvage the vehicle.

Through the course of the investigation, Radley said, deputies were able to piece together the events that took place leading up to the car fire, and they determined that Copeland was the suspect allegedly responsible for the vehicle theft and subsequent fire.

At that point, Copeland was already in jail following the arrest in Washington County, and Radley said deputies from Colorado City went there to add the additional charges, including one second-degree felony count of theft, third-degree felony arson and a misdemeanor assault offense that were all submitted to the Mohave County Attorney’s Office in Arizona for review.

Copeland will be scheduled to appear in court on the charges filed in both Arizona and Utah. He currently remains in jail in Washington County on $21,070 bail.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.  

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!